Dental floss holder



Aug. 19, 1952 w. E. MAAS DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER Filed Dec. 15, 1950 INVENTOR. WES LEYZ Mans BY 7497mm v Hawk/em Patented Aug. 19, 1952 DENTAL FLoss Ho nER Wesley E. Maris, itimkftfggrnl'j Application December 15, 1950, Serial No. 200,995 r 'Ifhis invention relates to dental floss holders and applicators and more particularly to a dental flp ss holder adapted to be held in the hand for applying the dental floss to the teeth.

It is among the objects of the invention to prnvide an improved dental floss holder and applicator of convenient size to be held in the hand while applying the dental floss to the teeth and having an internal capacity for a full'comniercial spool'of dental "floss; which maintains substantially all of the dental floss enclosed except the portion exposed for use; which exposes a straight piece of floss between the distal ends of a pair of legs or tines of a forked formation and provides means for securing the exposed portion of the floss in a taut condition; which includes a tapered floss locking or securing pin apertured for the passage of' the floss therethrough to prevent accidental loss of the pin; and which i simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, efficient and sanitary in use, and neat and attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claim in conjunction with'the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a dental floss holder and applicator illustrative of the invention; a v

:Figure '2 is a front elevational view of the holder and applicator illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the holder and applicator;

Figure 4 is a top plan view on a somewhat enlarged scale of the holder and applicator;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 66 of Figure 2; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 1--1 of Figure 1.

With continued reference to the drawing, the dental floss holder and applicator includes a main portion which is preferably of one piece construction and formed of a suitable transparent material, such as a synthetic resin plastic. This main portion includes an elongated handle l0 having a bore ll extending axially therethrough and a counterbore I2 coaxial with the bore II and opening to one end of the handle to receive a full commercial spool I3 of dental floss. The counterbore I2 has a diameter only slightly less than the external diameter of the adjacent I portion the handle to constitute theportion of the handleinlwhich the counterbore is provided, aspool receiving sleeve [4. The bore I1 is of a size to. conveniently receive an end portion, of dental floss-J threaded. therethrough. The main portion also includes a' fork :formation, on the end of the handleremote from that 'to 'which the counterbore [2 opens, this fork formation being ll-shaped .and including a pair of 1egs.:l5 and. [6 extending outwardly. from the. corresponding end of. the handle inspaced apartxand divergent relationship to each other. The center lines of the'two legs [5- and I6 are disposedin a plane which intersects at an obtuse angle. a plane including the .longitudinal centerline of theaxhandleand the bore .ll extends through the fork formation: between the. proximal ends, of the two legsI5.and.-I6.. .1

. Adjacentithe. fork formationthe handle, 10 is provided with a taperedatransverse; aperture "which extendsthroughthe, handle and interceptsthebore H. A tapered pin; 18 is received in the; tapered aperture I1 and. is provided; intermediate its length with atransverse aperture [9 which registers with the bore. II, when the pin is inserted fully into thetapered aperture at the proper rotational position. Near its longer endthe pin is provided with an annular groove 2| for apurpose to be presently explained,

Each of thelegs l5 and? is provided ineits distalend with a transverselyextending-notch, as indicated at 22 and 23, the two notches being mutually aligned across the space between the distal ends of the legs. The legs l5 and I6 are also provided in their outer sides with longitudinally extending grooves, as indicated at 24 and 25. The grooves 24 and 25 extend from the outer ends of the notches 22 and 23 respectively along the outer sides of the corresponding legs l5 and [6 toward the distal ends of the legs and extend around the portion of the fork formation joined to the handle toward the head 20 of the pin [8.

In applying dental floss to the holder, a commercial spool or bobbin of dental floss is placed in the counterbore I2 and one end of the dental floss is threaded from the counterbore through the bore II and brought out'of the end of the bore ll between the fork legs [5 and 16. In threading the end of the dental floss through the bore II, it is passed through the transverse aperture I9 in the pin I8 so that the pin will be attached to the handle against accidental loss.

A suficient length of dental floss is pulled out of the bore H to extend around the legs of the fork structure and the end of the dental floss is then carried around the groove 2| at the side of pin I8 remote from the legs l5 and I6 along the groove in one of the fork legs, through the notches at the distal ends of the fork legs and then through the groove in the other fork leg back to the pin. The free end of the dental floss is then pulled to tighten the portion extending between the distal ends of the fork legs and the free end is then wrapped about the pin I8 in the groove 2|, one and one half turns to secure the free end of the dental floss firmly to the pin. The pin is then pushed inwardly of the aperture I1 until the groove 2| is within the larger end of th aperture I! to lock the piece of dental floss extending around the fork legs in a taut condition.

The applicator may then be used to force the piece of dental floss between the distal ends of the fork legs between the teeth of a person using the device to clean out the spaces between the teeth and this piece of dental floss can be washed clean 'and reversed, if desired. If the piece of dental floss between the distal ends of the fork legs becomes frayed or broken or it is'desired to discard this piece of .floss, the part of the floss extending from bore H is cut off adjacent pin 18 and the portion of dental floss wrapped about thepin 18 is unwound, the pin is loosened by exerting finger pressure on its smaller end and additional floss pulled out of the handle from the spool l3 to extend around the fork and provide a new piece of floss between the distal ends of the fork legs;

A hollow cap 26 telescopically receives the end of the handle ill to which the counterbore I2 opens to close this end of the counterbore. With this arrangement, all of the'dental floss is enclosed except the portion extending immediately around the fork formation of the device and this portion of the dental floss is not ordinarily contacted by the fingers of a person using the device, so that the floss is maintained in a sanitary condition'by the holder.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing de- A dental floss holder and applicator comprising a handle having a bore extending axially therethrough and a co-unterbore opening at one end thereof for receiving a spool of dental floss, a fork formation on the other end of said handle including a pair of legs projecting outwardly from said other end of the handle in spaced apart relationship to each other, said bore extending through said fork formation between the proximal ends of said legs and each of said legs having a transversely disposed notch in its outer end and a longitudinally extending groove in its outer side, said handle having a, tapered aperture extending transversely therethrough adjacent said fork formation and intercepting said bore, and a tapered pin received in said aperture and having a transverse aperture therein registering with said bore and an annular groove therein adjacent the larger end thereof, said bore and the transverse aperture in said pin being adapted to receive an end of dental floss from a spool received in said counterbore, the grooves and notches in said legs being adapted to receive such an end of dental floss to expose a straight length of dental floss between the distal ends of said legs with the floss wound around said pin within said groove and with said pin forced inwardly of said tapered aperture to position said groove within the latter for maintaining the straight length of floss between the distal ends of said legs in a taut condition.

WESLEY E. MAAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,417,518 Henerlau Mar. 30, 1922 1,833,671 Byars Nov. 24, 1931 2,182,525 May Dec. 5, 1939 2,354,454 Geffner July 25, 1944 2,384,712 Turenchallo et a1. Sept. 11, 1945 2,467,221 Pastl Apr. 12, 1949 

